Track and Field is Murder
by VegasGoddess
Summary: [GSR] A teen is found murdered at her school, and Sara and Grissom both have an odd need to find her killer. They are both surprised, though, when the evidence leads them to someone they didn't expect.
1. Chapter One

**Summary:** A teen girl is found dead at her school, and Sara and Grissom both have a need to find the killer, and are completely surprised by where the evidence takes them.

**Spoilers:** None, really. Just that it's set in Las Vegas, and centres on two geeky scientists madly in love. And... a murder. If you didn't already know that, what the heck are you doing reading GSR fanfiction? Jeez...

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, when David Berman signed my 'Ultimate CSI' book, he only told me that I knew more about CSI than he did, and nothing about owning the show. So, I don't think I get anything.

**A/N:** Alex, Stephanie and Cheryl are real people, but were not hurt in the making of this story. They gave me their names and personalities to play with, and this is what I came up with. It was in the middle of gym, just after track and field practice, and I started writing when I got home. And this is what came out of my sick and twisted mind... :-) Oh and the killer isn't actually a raving lunatic who kills people with track and field utensils.

**A/N 2: **Mr. Fosten and Ms. Lucille ARE based on people I know... but they didn't give me their permission to play with their personalities. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, but who knows? Some people are picky about their personalities being played with. So... just ignore them, kay? Thanks...

**

* * *

****Track and Field is Murder**

Grissom and Sara made their way towards the middle school, Brass on their tail. "So," Grissom asked, turning towards the soccer/football field behind it. "What do we have?"

Brass sighed and looked down at his notes. "Fifteen-year-old girl, moved here from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada about two years ago. Student at the school…."

"Vancouver?" Grissom asked, a smile forming. "That's a beautiful city."

Sara turned to him. "You've been?"

"Yep," he said, his smile growing. "It's amazing."

Sara pouted for a moment. "_I've_ never been to Vancouver…"

Grissom just smiled at her before pulling his phone out. Quickly punching in a text message and hitting send, he moved towards the body.

Sara stared after him slightly confused until she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw that whatever Grissom had typed into his phone had been sent to her. As she opened it, she smiled. It said; _'Vancouver? We'll go someday soon honey. I'll take you.'_

Brass watched the smile grow on her face before turning to look at both of them. "The victim was a student at the school, and she seems to have been killed in a… odd way."

"Odd way?" Sara asked, looking from Brass to Grissom quickly and then back again.

"Yeah…" Brass said. "It seems like she's been impaled with what looks like a javelin, and then smashed in the head with a shot-put."

"Track and field," Sara said with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Grissom asked, turning to the brunette with a frown.

"Track and field, Griss," she said, placing a hand on his arm. "Look." She pointed to the track around the field, and the hurdles and discus set up on the outskirts. "It's May, which means it's time for track and field. Even in Vegas."

Grissom looked down at her hand on his arm, and she quickly pulled it away, giving him a small smile. 'Sorry,' she mouthed while Brass looked around.

"Haven't you ever heard of track and field, Gil?" Brass asked with a smirk. "It's school torture for the… un-athletic ones."

"Of course I've heard of track and field, Jim," Grissom snapped. "I'm not that old."

Sensing that his friend wasn't in a good mood, Brass stopped his teasing. "Hey Gil," he said, putting the notebook away. "I don't kill the people. I only get the call to call you, and then we go from there."

"I know, I know," Grissom said, looking sheepish. "I'm sorry. I just don't like being called in early on a Saturday, especially when I'm sleeping."

Sara turned her face so that her two counterparts wouldn't see her grin. She knew what time the call had come, and she also knew _exactly_ what Grissom had been doing when the phone rang. And it hadn't been sleeping.

Turning back around, she wiped the smile from her face before Grissom saw it. He always got weird when she smiled at him, kind of like this puppy dog look… it was hilarious to her, but he'd warned her early on to not do that kind of thing at work, because he would probably lose it.

"So," she asked. "What's the victim's name?"

Brass pulled out his notebook again and said, "Sandry Pine."

"Who's that?" Grissom asked, pointing to a blue-haired guy with his arms around a pretty brunette. They were standing off to the side of the victim.

"People who found the body," Brass answered. "Blue-haired guy is Shane Jameson, and his girlfriend, Alexandria Pankratz."

"Do they know the victim?" Sara asked, moving towards them.

"Yeah, she does," Brass said. "I don't know about the guy though…I've already taken their statements, but if you want to go talk to them, be my guest…"

Sara nodded and made her way over to the couple. "Hi," she said gently, sticking out a hand. "My name's Sara Sidle and I'm with the Crime Lab. Can you guys tell me what happened?"

Shane nodded slowly, looking like he was about to be sick.

"So, Shane and Alexandria…" Sara began, but she was cut off.

"It's Alex," she croaked out. "Everyone calls me Alex."

"My apologies, Alex," Sara said with a smile. "So, Shane and Alex, can you tell me what happened?"

Alex attempted to speak, but her tears were causing her to hiccup violently, and Shane wiped away her tears with gentle hands before turning to look at Sara.

"We were just walking across the field, and then we saw what looked like a dead animal or something… we went to go check on it – Alex is a die-hard animal lover – and then that's when we realized that it wasn't an animal… but a… person."

"Okay," Sara said soothingly. "That was a great explanation. Now I need to know… did either one of you touch the body?"

Alex paled, and it looked like she was about to puke. Sara put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, and steered her in the direction of the parking lot, where she could puke in peace and not disturb the crime scene.

Shane watched her walk away with a mix of love and apprehensiveness on his face.

"She'll be okay," Sara said gently, knowing that look. It was one of a very loving guy being overly concerned about his girlfriend. Grissom gave her the same look all the time, whenever she was sick or exhausted beyond belief. "Now, did you touch the body?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Alex?"

"Nope. We saw her, and called 911. It wasn't until after we'd called that she realized it was Sandry."

"Now, do you know Sandry?" Sara asked, looking around for Brass.

"Not personally," Shane answered as Alex made her way back over to them. She came to a stop beside him, and he wrapped her in his arms, placing soft kisses in her hair. "It's okay, Alex," he soothed. "They're going to find out what happened to Sandry."

"Alex, do you know Sandry Pine?" Brass asked, coming to a stop beside the small group.

"Yes," she answered shakily, taking deep breaths to calm herself slightly. "She's my friend. We're in the same class."

"You go to the school, Woodrock?"

"Yeah, we do. We're both in the ninth grade, at the school…"

Grissom came to join the group, standing incredibly close to Sara, but not touching her in the slightest. "Sara," he said quietly. "Do we know them?" He pointed to two girls running towards them.

"No…" Sara said slowly, breaking away from the group to approach the girls. Grissom quickly followed, walking beside her.

The pair either didn't see the crime tape, or blatantly ignored it, but they ran right past it, almost knocking assistant coroner David Phillips and the blanket-covered stretcher over.

"What the hell is going on?" one of the girls called. "What the…?" She seemed to notice Alex and Shane standing to the side still talking to Brass, and her face paled.

Grissom stepped up to her, and introduced himself. "Gil Grissom, Las Vegas PD. And you are…?"

"Cheryl Majeau," she answered coolly. "Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

"This is a murder investigation," Sara answered, also with a cool tone, coming to a stop behind her boss. "Do you mind stepping behind the tape?"

"Yeah, I do," Cheryl answered cattily, daring Sara to challenge her.

Sara was ready to pull authority over this girl's head, but Grissom turned to her ever so slightly and mouthed 'no'.

Sara relented and backed off. Turning to the other girl, she asked, "Who are you?"

"Stephanie Hillman," said the girl behind Cheryl. "Who is it?" she asked in a small voice.

Cheryl stood to the left of Sara, staring at the same spot Stephanie was, and then back at the stretcher. Horror found its way to her face, and she let out a small strangled sound. "Oh my God," she breathed. "_Sandry!_"

She started to run towards the stretcher, but Sara caught her arm. "No, you can't go in that area right now."

Cheryl struggled violently against Sara, pushing her arms and shouting, "Get off me bitch! My friend is dead, and I want to_ go see her!_"

Grissom's eyes flared with anger for a moment; people calling his girlfriend a bitch didn't sit well in his book. But Sara gently guided the now-crying girl to the ground, and shot him a look that said, 'I've got it covered.'

Grissom nodded his consent and herded the other girl towards the parking lot. "We are part of the LVPD, and we will do our best to find out what happened to Sandry. Can you go with this man here," he pointed to Brass who was leading Alex and Shane to a cruiser, "and your friends, and go down to the station? We need to do formal statements."

Stephanie nodded, but said, "What about Cheryl?"

Grissom looked at the crying girl on the ground, and said, "Sara is very compassionate, and she will help your friend to calm down. She'll meet you at the station, okay?"

The girl nodded and headed over to the car, giving Alex a consolatory hug.

**OoOoOoO**

Sara was crouched down in front of Cheryl, watching as she struggled to contain her emotions. "Cheryl?" Sara asked gently. "Are you alright?"

"No!" she practically screeched into Sara's ear. "One of my best friends has just been brutally murdered, and you're asking if _I'm alright!?_"

"I'm sorry," Sara said sincerely. "But, we need to get you up off the ground. We need you to come to the station for some more questioning."

"You think I'm a suspect?"

"I never once said that," Sara countered, her face impassive. "We just need to talk to you. Come on."

Sara gently pulled Cheryl from the ground and led her towards her Denali. Grissom came to stand behind her, and whispered, "What are you doing?"

Sara made sure that Cheryl was buckled in the front seat and ready to go before turning around to face her lover. Placing a hand discreetly on his chest, she said, "I'm taking her to the station, Gil. We need to talk with her."

"I know that. Why are _you_ taking her?"

"Because she sure isn't going to _walk_ to the station," Sara deadpanned.

"Sara…"

"I know Gil, I know." She rubbed his chest with her fingertips before turning back to get into her car. "I'll be careful."

Raising her fingers to her lips, she kissed them lightly before letting them gently guide over Grissom's lips. "See you back at the lab?"

"Definitely."

**OoOoOoO**

Cheryl was silent most of the ride, and only until they were a few blocks away from the lab did she speak. "You're close to him, aren't you?"

"Sorry?" Sara asked, looking at the road and not really paying attention.

"You, and what was his name again…? Grissom?"

"What about Grissom?" Sara asked, hardly able to keep the smile off her face at just the mention of him.

"You are close to him, aren't you?"

Sara shook her head slightly. _Can't talk about Gil like this at work, Sidle,_ she reminded herself. "Grissom and I… we're good friends," she finally answered, leaving the conversation at that.


	2. Chapter Two

**OoOoOoO**

Sara led Cheryl to a small room that was occupied already by Alex, Shane and Stephanie.

"Captain Brass will be here in just a little bit," Sara informed the group, turning to leave. "If you need anything, just let him know."

"What if we need a girl to talk to?" Cheryl asked in a small voice, not like the one she had used with Sara earlier.

"Then you can call me," Sara answered with a hint of a smile. She handed each girl a small business card, with her name and cell phone number on it.

She gave Shane a bright smile. "You want my card too?"

He shook his head shyly. "No, I'm good."

"Here then," she said, writing a number down on the back of one of her cards. "Call him. He's an _excellent_ listener. Nicky is the best to talk to, if you want to."

"Thanks," he said, and put it in his pocket.

**OoOoOoO**

When Sara finally made her way back to the lab, she found Grissom in DNA, looking over the case file.

"Grissom," she called. "What do you have?"

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up. "Sorry Sara… what did you say?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. "I asked what you have."

"Oh." He gave her a boyish grin. "DNA results."

"I can see that. On what, though?"

"Well, I found a longish blonde hair at the scene, and I thought that it _might_ be Sandry's, but…"

"But what?" Sara asked, grabbing the file from his hand. Reading it over, she realized. "Oh…"

"Yeah."

The file said that the hair found was not a match to Sandry. It did however, visibly match the hair of one of her friends.

"Stephanie Hillman," Sara said on a breath.

**OoOoOoO**

The small group sat in the room as Captain Jim Brass stepped in. "My name is Brass," he introduced himself. "And I'm here to see if any of you can help with this investigation."

His cell phone rang, momentarily distracting him. "Brass," he answered.

On the other end, Grissom relayed the information the DNA testing had told him and Sara. "A blonde hair found at the scene does not match Sandry Pine. It does however, visibly match Stephanie Hillman."

"Damn," Brass said quietly, looking over his shoulder at the quiet girl seated in the corner. "Do we need to take a DNA sample?"

"It would be best," Grissom answered. "Just keep the girls there… you can send Shane home I think. He doesn't know the victim. Sara will come by and take samples in a little while. Right now, we're going to autopsy."

"Will do," Brass said, and hung up.

The group turned puffy red eyes on him, silently asking what was going on. "Shane," Brass said gently. "You did not know the victim, so you are free to go."

Shane shook his head and wrapped his arm tighter around Alex's waist. "No. I'm staying here with Alex. She needs me."

"Alright," Brass said, not arguing. This guy cared for Alex very much, and he openly showed it. Maybe he could refer Grissom to Shane, give him a few pointers on fixing his relationship with Sara.

Pushing that thought away for the time being, he said, "I need to speak to you all individually. Who wants to go first?"

Of course, no one raised their hand, so Brass had the daunting task of choosing. _Our only sort-of-suspect would be a good choice,_ he decided. "Miss Hillman, would you come with me?"


	3. Chapter Three

**OoOoOoO**

Sara and Grissom made their way down to the morgue, making small talk the way couples do. They talked about the case, and nothing important. Upon arriving at the steel double doors though, Grissom said something important.

"Alright, into the morgue we go, Sara. All professionalism now."

"You're right babe," she said, smirking and giving him a wink before slipping into the cold room.

Grissom stared at the back of her in shock for a moment, but quickly regained his composure and followed his girlfriend in.

"Evening Gil, Sara," Dr. Robbins said by way of greeting.

"Hey Doc," Sara said, giving him a smile. "Got anything on our track and field murder?"

"Well, I do have to say that her COD is _very _interesting."

"Interesting how?" Grissom queried, wanting to know more.

"Well, COD was blunt force trauma to the head," he said, showing them the big dent in the girl's skull. "I would have to say that something round… like a sphere of some sort did this damage."

Grissom and Sara had the same thought at the same time. "Shot-put," they said together.

Doc looked up. "Excuse me?"

Sara turned to him. "You know why our girl is called the track and field murder, right?"

"Because she was found in a field only days away from track…?" Dr. Robbins said, not following the brunette's train of thought.

"No, Al," Grissom said, quickly stopping his wandering hand from finding its place on Sara's back, "she's called that because of her murder weapons."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Our guess is that she was hit in the head with a shot-put and impaled with a javelin," Sara explained, happy to be able to teach something to the doctor.

Dr. Robbins winced a little. "Ouch," was all he could say. "That is a painful way to die."

"Sure is," Grissom agreed, looking Sandry over again. "You agree with our theory?"

The doctor smirked at Grissom. "Making theories, are we, Gil? Maybe Sara is having too much of an impact on you."

Both of their heads shot up, not comprehending what the doctor had said right away. Grissom blushed, and Sara looked at her hands.

"Yes Gil," he said, smiling. "I agree with you. A javelin probably would have done the job."

"Thanks, Albert," Grissom answered, grabbing Sara's elbow and turning quickly to the doors. "Find anything else, page us?"

"Always do," he promised, already turned to the next body on his table. Waiting for the couple-in-secret to leave his sanctuary, Dr. Robbins gave himself a mental pat on the back.

**OoOoOoO**

Making their way quickly to his office, Grissom and Sara couldn't help smiling at each other.

Finally reaching the door, they slipped in silently, and collapsed on his office couch. Sara started to laugh, and Grissom quickly followed.

Wiping her eyes, Sara said between gulps, "It's not even that funny. If the Doc knows, how long will it be before everyone else knows?"

Grissom kissed her cheek, and said, "Albert won't tell anyone. He's not a gossip. If we need to be afraid of anyone finding out, it should be Catherine."

"Or Hodges," Sara added, knowing that the kiss-ass lab rat would be all over them within seconds of finding out. "Or maybe even Greg."

"Not if Greg wants to keep his job," Grissom threatened.

"Ahh, Griss, you _would not _fire Greg in your life. He is an amazing talent, and you need him on your team."

"That very well may be," Grissom grumbled, "but if he finds out and says something, I'll have his head on a wooden plate on my wall."

"Not if you want me anywhere near your house you won't."

Grissom nodded in agreement. "I want you more than I want Greg on my wall. Anyway, back to work. Are you going to go down to PD and take DNA samples from our sort-of-suspect?"

"Already gone," she answered, standing up. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye."

And she left, leaving a smell of coconut and chocolate in the air.

**OoOoOoO**

When the tall woman walked into the small room holding the group, a ripple of fear mixed with relieved tension was felt.

"Hey guys," Sara said, a cheerful smile on her face. "How are you all doing?"

Everyone mumbled something incoherent, and that was okay with Sara. It was expected in a situation like this.

Turning to Brass, Sara quietly asked, "Get anything?"

Waving a hand to her, he led her out into the hall. "What I got was this… Alex and Cheryl were her best friends, with Stephanie a newer member to the group, but quickly on her way to becoming accepted."

Sara nodded; sounded pretty much like any ninth grader's life.

"But, there was something odd. I interviewed the girls separately – Alex and Cheryl were pretty much singing the same song, but Stephanie had different lyrics."

She couldn't help but laugh at Brass's way of wording things. "How so?"

"Well, like I said, they were saying that the four of them got along real well. But Stephanie, this girl was hurling insults at Sandry like she was Hitler or something."

Sara raised an eyebrow. The quiet girl in the room didn't seem to be the kind to throw insults or swear at all to anyone. Alive or dead. "What did she say?"

"That Sandry was a bitch and she really, _really_ hated her… seemed very catfight-ish. I don't know anything about that really, how about you?"

Giving the detective a smile, Sara answered, "No. Do I look like I was in any catfights when I was a teenager?"

Brass looked her over, then said, "No, I don't think you were. If you had been though, you totally would have kicked ass."

"Thanks, I think…"

"Anytime, doll," Brass answered. Continuing, he said, "So, bring your DNA collecting supplies?"

"Always do," she said, holding up her field kit.

"Then lead the way, Miss Sidle," he told her, holding open the door.

Sara stepped back into the room, and set her kit on a table in the corner. "Hey girls, I'm back. And Shane," she addressed them with a nod. "I just need to take a DNA sample from each of you."

Shane looked momentarily terrified, but that look soon left when he remembered that he wasn't a suspect.

Unfortunately, Sara was about to burst his bubble. "You too, Shane," she said, holding out a swab to his mouth.

"What? Why? I thought I wasn't a suspect!" he stuttered, backing away from Sara's outstretched hand.

"One thing you learn about forensics, Shane, is that first on the scene, first suspect. And unfortunately, you and Alex were first on this scene."

Grumbling, Shane opened his mouth and let Sara swab it. "Thanks," she said, moving on.

Once all three girls and Shane had been swabbed, Sara packed up her supplies and handed the reins over to Brass once again. "I'll be back in a little while with the results," she said, and left the room.


	4. Chapter Four

**OoOoOoO**

After a quick lunch (or whatever you wanted to call a meal at three in the morning) with Grissom and a bathroom break, Sara made her way to the DNA lab, where Wendy had called her earlier.

'_Results are in,'_ Wendy's message had read. _'Come when you can.'_

Now, leaning her hip on lab tech's desk, Sara read the printout. "A match to one Stephanie Hillman," she said out loud.

Grissom came in then, and stood behind Sara, reading the sheet over her shoulder. Resisting the urge to lean into him, she said, "Stephanie's hair was at the scene. Does that mean anything?"

"I don't know," Grissom answered, his warm breath fanning her neck. "Let's go find out."

Grissom and Sara entered Brass's office with the printout in hand. "Stephanie's hair _was_ at the scene," Sara confirmed with a small smile. "She give anything up to you?"

"Nope," the cop said, leaning back in his chair. "All she said was that she hated Sandry, but she would never, ever kill her. She even points out that she isn't the strongest girl around."

Grissom nodded. The girl's statement made sense. She _wasn't_ that strong-looking. But, rage can give you extra strength you didn't know you had.

"Let's go talk to her ourselves, Grissom," Sara said, breaking into his thoughts. "I want to hear what she has to say."

**OoOoOoO**

Brass set up a room for the two criminalists and suspect, and left them alone. It wasn't like the girl was going to attack either of them or something.

Stephanie sat on one end of the table, while Grissom and Sara sat opposite her.

"So, Stephanie," Grissom began in a soothing voice, "how was your relationship with the victim, Sandry Pine?"

"Not very good," she mumbled.

"Why not?"

"Because I hated her."

"For a specific reason?"

"Because," Stephanie said, her head lifting and her eyes blazing. "She was a bitch. She made fun of me for everything, and made my life miserable. She made my life hell."

"And the only way to bring your life back under control again was to kill her?" Sara asked softly, joining the interrogation.

"What? No! I didn't kill Sandry! Why would you even think that?"

"Because your hair was found at the scene," Sara explained, holding up the bindle that held the girl's blonde hair.

"Well… I don't… I don't know how that could of g-gotten there…" she stuttered, looking away from the two.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Sara promised, standing to leave. Grissom followed, and they made their way to the hallway.

"She's lying," Grissom stated flatly.

"Well duh," Sara said, running a hand through her hair. "How do we always know?"

"She was looking to the left."

"Excuse me?"

"When someone is lying," Grissom explained patiently, "they look to the left. When they're remembering, they look to the right, which means that they are also telling the truth."

"Wow. Okay… how do we prove that she's lying?"

"We follow the evidence."

**OoOoOoO**

After calling Brass and heading over to PD, Grissom told his CSI and the detective of his plan.

"We'll go back to the school, and look for the murder weapons."

"Weapons?"

"Well," Sara explained, "murder _weapon_. We're looking for a shot-put, and possibly a javelin. The big metal ball did the damage, but I'm sure the pointy metal did its own bit of work."

"Ahh," Brass said. "See Gil? When you explain it in simple terms like that, it makes sense to old cops like me."

Grissom just gave him a look, not noticing Sara covering a laugh behind him. "Can we just go now?"

**OoOoOoO**

Woodrock Middle School turned out to be very accommodating. The principal, Mr. Fosten, was willing to do anything he could to help find Sandry's killer.

"Sandry was an amazing student. She had a lot of friends, and I quite liked her myself. I will do everything in my power to help you out."

Sara thanked him and asked if they could take a look at the gymnasium.

"Of course," he said, leading them on the short walk from his office to the gym. "Here you are. Ms. Lucille – our gym teacher – she's… she's right here."

A tall and thin lady with vibrant red hair strode in, her face blank. "Mr. Fosten," she called. "What is going on?"

"These two," he said, pointing to Sara and Grissom, "are criminalists from the LVPD. They're investigating Sandry's murder. We will help them."

"Oh, of course," Ms. Lucille said, a small but sad smile lighting up her face. "Sandry wasn't my student, but she was in my gym class. Soccer player, you know."

Brass held up his badge. "Ms. Lucille," he said in his most charming voice, "may we please see your shot-put collection and your javelins?"

"My shots and javelins?" she asked, perplexed. "If I may, why do you need to see those?"

"Because they are crucial to our investigation," Grissom said patiently, albeit with a tinge of annoyance.

"Yes, of course," Ms. Lucille said, her face turning pink with embarrassment. "I'm sorry."

She walked to the far end of the gym, and pulled out a set of keys from her pocket. Sliding one into the lock and pulling open one of the large red doors, she turned back to the small group. "All yours," she announced.

"Thank-you," Grissom said sincerely, leading Sara into the small equipment room.

"I so call shot-puts," Sara said, putting on her latex gloves with a loud _snap!_

Grissom just gave her a small smile in recognition and moved to where the javelins were resting against the wall.

After some silent minutes, a smile spread across Sara's face. She'd found something.

"What do you have?" Grissom asked, crouching down next to her.

"I think I found blood," she said, pulling a swab from her vest pocket. "Wait." She sprayed the right chemicals on it, waiting for the tip of the swab to turn red. As the white fibers started to turn pink, Sara summed it all up in a word: "Jackpot."

Leaning in closer to her, Grissom whispered, "I guess track and field really _is_ murder."

**OoOoOoO**

After Mandy in fingerprinting had lifted the bloody print found on a different shot-put, Sara made her way back to Wendy in DNA, ready to give her the new blood sample.

"Hey Sara," the chatty tech said, looking up from talking with Henry from toxicology. "What do I need to do now?"

"Run this blood sample against Sandry's, and the three girls. Take extra care though, with Stephanie Hillman's sample."

"Alright. I'll page you when I get results."


	5. Chapter Five

**OoOoOoO**

Realizing that for today, they had done all they could, Grissom phoned Brass at PD and told him to let the girls (and Shane) go for now. They weren't doing anyone any good just sitting around the station, and they all deserved some sleep.

He and Sara headed home, tired after working a long shift that wasn't even theirs, completely ready to catch some sleep before they started again tonight.

Driving home, Grissom brought up the case. "What do you think happened out there? I mean, why would anyone want to kill Sandry? She seemed like such a nice girl, from what we've heard of her."

"I don't know," Sara said, her head leaning back on the headrest. "I do know however, that I am extremely tired and want nothing more than to go to bed. And sleep," she added, catching the look Grissom was giving her. "Just sleep."

"Alright, alright," he countered, realizing that he too was not up for anything right now but sleep.

They made their way home, not doing anything but eating and sleeping, and trying – in their rest – to find the right piece of evidence to put Sandry's killer behind bars.

**OoOoOoO**

Walking into the lab, a pager went off, and both Grissom and Sara looked at their waists. "It's mine," they said together, and then looked up, surprised.

"Mine's Wendy," Sara said.

"Mandy," Grissom replied.

"Get and report?" she asked, smiling.

"In my office," he answered, already walking down the hall and away from her.

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom found Mandy in her lab; printout in hand. "Here you go," she said, extending it out to him. "Print results."

Looking down at the paper, he felt himself let out a breath of relief. _We have found our killer,_ he thought.

**OoOoOoO**

In his office, he and Sara went over the evidence they had so far. "What did Wendy give you?" Grissom asked, looking over her shoulder.

"The blood on the shot-put belongs to the victim. Sandry."

"And, the print in blood? Belongs to Stephanie Hillman."

Sara whipped her head around, and stared up into his blue eyes. "_Stephanie_ is the killer!?"

Grissom stared back at her, a look on his face that read, 'Well yeah. Who did you think it was going to be?'

"I just assumed…"

"Sara…" he said in a playful warning tone. "What have I told you?"

"I know, I know… don't ever assume. When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said, placing a small kiss on her cheek. "Let's go get a confession out of her."

**OoOoOoO**

Interrogation was something Sara prided herself on. She was quite good at it, and was almost always able to weasel a confession out of the right people.

After Brass had read her rights to her, Sara started. "So, Stephanie, we have found evidence that you were with Sandry the night she was killed."

Her face paled, but she stayed silent.

"Care to explain that?" Grissom asked.

"I didn't kill her," Stephanie said in a small but strong voice.

"Then why did we find your fingerprints in her blood on a shot-put in your school gym?"

"I don't know! I have no idea of how they got there!"

"You don't know?" Sara asked, her eyes icy. "Stephanie, we know you did it. Don't lie to us. To save yourself some mercy, you might want to start from the beginning."

Stephanie looked frantically back and forth, searching for any sort of escape route.

"Don't wear yourself out. We'll be in here until you confess," Sara said, leaning back in her chair.

The young teenager finally accepted the fact that she was defeated. She didn't verbalize it, but the look on her face was all the two criminalists needed.

"Why did you kill Sandry Pine?" Grissom asked, leaning forward.

The voice that spoke was not one of a little girl, or even that of a scared teenager. It was full of venom; full of hatred.

"I killed her because she was a full-out bitch. And I hated her."

Sara and Grissom sat back, the force of her words surprising them both. She was such a quiet girl, seemed very nice…

_Never judge a book by its cover, Gil,_ he reminded himself doubtfully. _Because you'll always end up surprised and confused._

"How did you kill her?" Sara asked.

"I stabbed her with a javelin, to put her in pain, and then smashed her head in with a shot-put."

Sara leaned over and whispered in Grissom's ear, "Her story is consistent with our evidence. She did it."

He nodded slightly, still facing Stephanie. "Did you kill Sandry Pine?"

She stared straight at him, never taking her eyes off of him. "Yes. I did. I killed Sandry. And I _am not_ sorry."

**OoOoOoO**

Standing in front of the parents of the victim with Sara, Grissom spoke somberly. "We have identified your daughter's killer."

The husband and wife clung to each other desperately, both wanting to know and not wanting to know at all. "Who is it?" Joseph Pine choked out, holding onto his wife.

"Stephanie Hillman."

"Stephanie Hillman," Marie Pine repeated, a look of confusion in her eyes. "I thought that… I thought… she and Sandry were friends…"

The parents broke down, and Grissom – never good with people – just said what he usually did. "I'm very sorry for your loss." Except, this time, he was sincerely sorry. Sandry was only fifteen, and had had a promising future taken away from her and her family.

"Thank-you for finding the one responsible," Mr. Pine said through tears, as he held tightly onto his wife. "I don't know what we would of done had we not known… thank-you…"

Grissom only nodded his head and placed a hand on Sara's back. Their job was done for tonight, and they both wanted to go home. He led her out the door, letting the parents grieve on their own.

Heading to the parking lot, he told Sara, "I'll meet you at your place in a bit. I want to go get some food for an omelet, if that's okay with you."

"Omelets sound great," Sara said, kissing him before getting into her car. "I'll see you in a bit."


	6. Chapter Six

**OoOoOoO**

After eating their breakfast and were now just lounging around her apartment before heading to bed, there was a soft knock on Sara's apartment door. Grissom stood up. "I'll get it."

He opened the door to the now-familiar faces of two teenaged girls. "Hello," he greeted them warmly.

"Oh, hi," said the shorter girl, obviously embarrassed. "Is uhh… is, is Sara there?"

Upon hearing her name, Sara got up tiredly from the couch. "Gil," she said through a yawn, "who's at the door?"

"It's uhh, me, us, I guess," piped up the taller girl, craning her head into the apartment.

All traces of sleep were now gone. "Cheryl? Alex? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, we're okay, I guess," Cheryl said, looking down at her feet, tears in her eyes.

Sara turned back to Grissom. "Gil? Do you mind? Could we have a little privacy? Girl talk, you know…"

"Oh, yeah, of course honey. I'll go… take a… walk around the block."

"Thanks." She gave him a stunning smile, and he grabbed his keys from the counter and headed out the door.

After he'd turned the corner down the hall, Sara invited the girls in. "Hey, I'm surprised you stopped by. How did you even find out where I lived?"

"Well," Alex said, "you gave Shane that guy Nick's card, and when he talked to him, he told us where you lived. Shane said that he didn't want to give it out, but he convinced him that we were good people, and that we just wanted to talk."

"Oh, okay," Sara said, reminding herself to give Nick a big hug next shift for thinking of her safety.

"So… Mr. and Mrs. Pine told us what happened, and… about Stephanie…" Cheryl said her tears still present.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. But she confessed to doing it, and the evidence told us that she did, and that's what we have to go with," Sara explained as gently as she could.

"What's going to happen to her?" Alex asked.

"I'm not really at liberty to say," Sara answered. "I'm sorry."

They both nodded, looking upset. Cheryl looked up suddenly, and a small smile lit up her face. "I was right, you know."

"Right about what?" Sara asked, confused.

"That you were close to that guy. Grissom…?"

Sara laughed. "I'm not at liberty to speak about that relationship, even if there was one there."

"There is something between you two though," Alex observed, her own smile growing.

Smiling and staying quiet, Sara could only nod her head briefly before standing. "Girls, I really am sorry about having to kick you out so fast, but we – I was just about to hop into bed when you knocked."

"That's okay," Alex said. She had heard Sara's slip of the tongue, and thought it was sweet. "Thanks again, I think, for finding Sandry's killer," she said. "Even if it did turn out to be one of our friends…"

"You're welcome. And please, don't be afraid to call me if you ever want to talk."

"We won't," Cheryl said, standing as well.

The three made their way to the door, and Sara held it open for them. "Give the Pine's condolences for me, will you?"

"Yep," Alex said, and stepped out the door. "Bye."

Cheryl quickly followed, but not before she'd given Sara a quick hug. "I'm sorry for calling you a bitch earlier," she apologized.

"What? Oh… wow, I'd forgotten about that," she confessed. "But I accept your apology. Thank you."

"Thanks for everything, Sara," Cheryl called, finally following Alex out. "Bye."

"Bye," Sara said, closing the door.

**OoOoOoO**

Cheryl and Alex headed down the hall, and ran into Grissom. "Thanks for everything," Alex said in passing.

Grissom had stopped, and when the girls looked back when they'd arrived at the top of the stairs, he still hadn't moved.

"Better get going, or your girlfriend's going to wonder where you are!" Cheryl called, waving.

That comment got him moving, and he walked the rest of the hall and slipped back into the apartment.

Sara was already in bed, waiting for him. "Those were nice girls," she said, laying her head onto his chest as he crawled in beside her.

"Yeah," Grissom answered, fighting a yawn.

"Yeah. Night, Gil."

"Goodnight, Sara."

**OoOoOoO**

Cheryl and Alex made their way back home, each thinking about how amazing those two CSIs were. They'd worked through the mystery of solving their friend's murder, and Alex felt that they deserved some happiness of their own, a stark contrast to dealing with death every night.

"They're good people, aren't they?" she asked Cheryl as they walked.

"Yeah, they are," she answered.

"Well, I think that they deserve happiness. I mean, they gave us a sort of bittersweet happiness, didn't they?"

Cheryl smiled as she turned onto her street. "They've got their happiness Alex, they've got it."

* * *

The End! 

**A/N 3:** I didn't add to the story or anything, for all of the people who came back to this, I just split it up into six chapters so it was easier to read, because I thought it was too long a story for it to all be one chapter. So it's all still the same, and I hope you still like it, if you've returned to it, or I hope you DID like it, if you've just found it now.


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